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Empire of the Sun (EOTS) is Mark Herman's third card-driven design since he introduced the system to the hobby in We The People. EOTS is a strategic level look at the entire War in the Pacific from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the surrender of Japan. EOTS is the first card-driven game (CDG) to move the system closer to a classic hexagon wargame, while retaining all of the tension and uncertainty people have come to expect from a CDG. Players are cast in the role of Macarthur, Yamamoto, Nimitz, and Mountbatten as you direct your forces across the breadth of the globe from India to Hawaii and from Alaska to Australia. This is represented on a single map based on a 1942 equal area projection of the entire theater of conflict.
As in other games in the Herman CDG system, players try to maximize the impact of their cards even as they hide their intentions and traps from their opponent. The player is faced with a wide set of clear strategic choices. Should you play the card for its event that causes enemy inter-service rivalry hampering their operations, cause an enemy reverse in Europe delaying or accelerating Allied reinforcements, gain critical reinforcements, such as the elite Tainan Air Unit of Saburo Sakai fame, or launch an offensive to conquer a key objective. Offensives allow players to pit historical land, air and sea units against their opponent's forces.
EOTS does not use generic strength points but historical units. Naval units account for each ship that fought in the war. Air units are Japanese Army divisions or flotillas, such as the famous 22nd Air Flotilla that sunk the British Force Z (Prince of Wales/ Repulse) at the war's outset. Allied air units are numbered Air Forces, such as the 5th, with separate heavy bomber units, such as the 19th (B-17) that fought to its virtual destruction in the Philippines in 1941 and early 1942. Army units are represented as Allied Corps or Japanese armies, while specialized amphibious units such as the 1st Marines are represented at the division level. An array of smaller special units such as the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces and the famous South Seas Detachment are individually depicted in the game's order of battle.
The focus of EOTS is on directing major offensive axes of advance. The Japanese early in the game are challenged to achieve their historical expansion as Allied forces battle the clock to react with their in-place forces trying to achieve maximum damage to the hard- to-replace Japanese veteran units. EOTS places in the hands of the Japanese the full range of strategic options for taking the paths not taken historically as they try and manipulate the War in Europe and U.S. inter-service rivalry to divert and slow United States industrial output. Even as the Japanese flood is reaching its high tide the Allies start to receive the first of their many reinforcements as they start to plot their counter-offensives. The war then sees a period of equality as the Allies battle the Japanese for offensive momentum.
Offensives allow a player to activate and move forces to achieve your objectives. Small offensives are focused on a single objective, while large offensives enable wide-ranging operations, but at the penalty of reduced operational security. The player conducting an Offensive is not certain of the level and intensity of his opponent's reaction until after he has committed his forces. It is this new mechanic, evolved from Mark Herman's classic Pacific War, that brings a new level of uncertainty and tension to the CDG genre. This mechanic allows players to use reaction intelligence cards or die rolls to cause the historical Midway ambush or Japanese pre-planned counter-attacks. Offensives naturally generate collisions of forces that result in battles where intelligence, air and naval superiority and ground forces determine victory.
Combat in EOTS is based on successfully bringing superior combined land, air, and sea forces to bear in a two-tiered combat system. The first tier is the resolution of air-naval combat where air superiority is the critical variable. Much of the war was focused around control of airbases to bring superior land-based air power to bear during an offensive. It was the inability of Macarthur to accomplish this during the later stages of the New Guinea campaign that caused the Joint Chiefs to order the navy to support the Army with its precious carriers. This historical variable naturally drives player decisions as it did for their real world predecessors. A defender with air superiority prevents amphibious forces from landing or severely hinders offensives in the CBI (China-Burma-India) theater. Conversely, obtaining air superiority enables the attacker to bring his efforts to fruition. The second tier of the system covers ground combat, where air power, naval bombardment, and armor give critical support. The culmination of both tiers results in one side prevailing in battle.
The key variable in determining strategic victory is the level of U.S. political will. The Japanese win the game by forcing the U.S. into a negotiated peace, which was not achieved historically. The Japanese achieve this by knocking countries like India, China, and Australia out of the war, while inflicting massive casualties on the United States. The delivery of the A-bomb on its historical schedule is not a guarantee, often necessitating Operation Olympic and the invasion of Japan. It is often in its darkest hour that the Japanese find victory in EOTS.
EOTS scenarios were designed with the busy enthusiast, hardcore grognard, and competitive tournament player in mind. EOTS was designed to be played in yearly scenarios (1942, 1943, and 1944) of three turns each that play in under two hours. These key snapshots of the war are stand-alone complete gaming experiences that allow for a quick afternoon run through or a tournament round. Each of the yearly scenarios can be played to the conclusion of a later chronological scenario (start in 1942 and play to the end of 1943 or 1944; 6 and 9 turns respectively). Lastly, the Campaign game is there to allow the player to experience the entire war in one long gaming session with either a 1941 (Pearl Harbor), or 1942 start. The scenario design lets you tune your EOTS experience to your available time and interest level.
Game Contents:
- 1 22" x 33" game map
- 2 Countersheets
- 3 Decks of 55 Playing Cards each
- 2 Full Color Player Aid Cards
- 1 Illustrated Rulebook
- 1 Illustrated Playbook
- Scenarios
- Designers Notes
- Illustrated Examples of Play
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